Law Talk Poll: Should Michigan change its laws when it comes to gay marriage?

Rex Larsen | The Grand Rapids Press Michael Woerner, left, and David Battjes, both of Grand Rapids, were among a dozen supporters of gay marraige who gathered on Calder Plaza to promote a change in Michigan law. "It's unrecognized here ( in Michigan ) but our church recognizes us as married" Battjes said. The couple are members of St Andrews Epicopal Church on 3 Mile Road NE in Grand Rapids.

Even as federal appeals courts nationwide stampede to find the national ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, Michigan residents seem to be shifting their support.

The challenge to the act was brought by Edith “Edie” Windsor, who sued the government for failing to recognize her same-sex marriage to Thea Spyer, after Spyer’s death in 2009.

The suit stated that Windsor and Spyer were married in Canada in 2007, and were considered married by their home state of New York.

When Spyer died, she left all of her property to Windsor, normally a case where a spouse would not have any estate tax. But because DOMA invalidated their marriage, Windsor had to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate
taxes.

The ACLU joined in the suit that argued DOMA violates the equal protection guarantee of the U.S. Constitution because it requires the government to treat legally married same-sex couples as though they were not married.

President Barrack Obama’s administration refused to defend the statute in court in February, 2011. Instead, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group appointed an attorney to represent the government in the case.

“Thea and I shared our lives together for 44 years, and I miss her each and every day,” said Windsor in a statement released by the ACLU. “It’s thrilling to have a court finally recognize how unfair it is for the government to have treated us as though we were strangers.”

In Michigan, which bans same-sex marriage, the decision could have an impact if it is upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Michigan Republican’s attempts to put a ban on public funding of domestic partner benefits and to penalize state-funded universities that do so could be halted in its tracks.

Dave Agema, who has been a consistent voice opposing gay marriage and domestic partner benefits, wrote on his Facebook page on June 1 that he feels universities need to be stopped from offering the benefits.

“I greatly dislike giving any more money to colleges that continue to give same sex/unmarried benefits under the guise of being autonomous,” he wrote. “No one has the right to break the law- they think they can. Paying these benefits raises tuition and costs taxpayers money even though we made it illegal. We need a law suit brought against them on this issue.”

But it appears that those who oppose gay marriage are finding their base of support shrinking in the Great Lakes State.

A poll by North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling finds that 70 percent of Michigan voters believe gay couples should either be allowed to marry or form civil unions, up from 62 percent in August, when a scientific sample of Michigan voters were last asked about the issue.

Among Michigan Republicans 51 percent believe gay couples should either be allowed to marry or form civil unions, according to the polling data.
Still, the largest segment of Michigan voters think same-sex marriage should be illegal, 45 percent, that number is down by 8 percent which the polling firm calls “a notable shift in public opinion in the state.”

So what do you think? Take the poll on this page and comment down below.